Sandhill cranes on a strip if land surrounded by water at their night time roost.
I only had a 100-400mm lens and an extension tube with me as I walked around an urban wetland near Madison.
Almost as soon as I got there I found a snapping turtle crossing one of the man made dikes.
I used the extension tube and was able to make relatively close up images like these three.
I like the duckweed on its shell.
By pulling the extension tube I got the turtle walking away.
I found this thistle flower along the path and then headed back to the sandhill cranes.
The lens I had wasn't long enough to isolate individual cranes so I had to get creative and shoot the group.
By waiting for the birds to remain nearly motionless I was able to make some nice silhouettes in spite of the slow shutter speeds.
While I was photographing the cranes on their roost, pairs and single cranes would fly in and join the flock. I caught this sandhill with its wings set and ready to land just after sunset.
I'm glad I took the camera on my walk and made do with what I had.
